Cotton-gin.



No. 655,|67. Patented July 3|, I900.

M. PRIOR.

GQTTUN GIN. (Application filed July 23, 1896.)

2 Sheets-Sheet I.

(No Model.)

r /l/l/Z I 'IIIIIII/IIIII n4: "bums rmas co.. PNQIO-UTNQHWAQMGTON. u. c.

Nu. 655,!67. Patented July 31,1900;

m. PRIOR.

COTTON GIN.

(Application filed July 23, 1896-) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 (No Model.)

.' mimm' m: dams FETER5 co. PNOTO'UTHCL. wAsmNo'rbu. a. a

UNITED) T Pa rniwr @FFIQE.

MATTHEW PRIOR, OF VVATERTOWN, MASSACHUSETTS.

COTTON-GIN.

SPECIFIC IATION forming part of Letters Fatent No. 655,167, dated July 31, 1900.

Application filed-July 23, 1 B 8 6 Serial No. 600,205. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, MATTHEW PRIOR, of Watertown,. county of Middlesex, State of Massachusetts, have invented an Improve ment in Cotton-Gins,of which the following description, in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a specification, like letters on the drawings representing like parts.

It is the aim of my invention to provide means especially adapted to gin the dirty cotton and so-called cotton-waste. This cotton and the corresponding "sorts of wool are full of seeds, motes, dirt, and various forms of debris and tangled and stuck-together masses of cotton which it has been next to impossible heretofore to gin from the cotton or wool, as the case may be. Accordingly I have devised improvements in the feeding mechanism whereby a constant and uniform feed of the cotton or wool is assured, and in the ginning mechanism whereby the most obdurate fiber is straightened out and ginned almost perfectly, and in the further details of the machine whereby the particles of dirt which may have been carried through the gin proper are fiber has passed entirely through the machine.

The details advantages of my invention will be fully pointed out in the complete description hereinafter, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, illustrative ofthe preferred form of my invention.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a central vertical section of the complete machine. Fig. 2 is a fragmentary detail in seetionshowing the means of securing the upper endof v the card-case. Fig. 3 is an enlarged detail, in side elevation, showing the means for varying the speed of the roller relatively to the feed-regulator. Fig. 4 is a rear side eleva tion of the mechanism for transmitting inter-' mittent motion to the feed-regulator. Fig. 5 is a detail in plan of the draft separator or grating forremoving the finer particles of dirt from the cotton after it has been ginned. Fig.6 is a top plan view of the dirt-grid. Fig. 7 is a similar view of the feed-regulator. Fig. 8 is a similar view of the dirt-screen. Fig. 9 is a cross-section of the feedq'egulator, taken on the line 9 9 of Fig. 7.

effectually removed before the;

of the mechanism and further I have herein shown the improvements which constitute my present invention as applied to a gin having in general the same features which have been heretofore patented to me in my Patent No. 511,711. My invention, however, 'is'in no wise restricted thereto, in-

asmuch as it may be applied to any usual or preferred cotton or wool gin.

table a, whence it is delivered to the carrier a, herein shown as an endless belt armed the slats of the belt. This carrier seizes the cotton and carries it to the hopper a pivoted at a and vibrated by means of the eccentric means of the screw connection a,whence the cotton is fed through the opening a over the comb-like clearer a to the roller a.

All the features above enumerated may be ton-gins and are mounted insuitable relation in the frame A of the gin.

In order that the feed of the cotton as it is carried around by the carrier 0. may be uni of the carrier a feed-controller b in the form of a rotating roll having slats or ridges b peripherally secured longitudinally thereof and each carrying a multiplicity of light pins or teeth 19 slanting rearwardly. This feed-controller is rotated by means of the chain 19 Fig. 3, so as to move the teeth 11 forwardly adjacent the carrier opposite to the movement of the latter. The teethbeing'rearwardly inclined, as stated, keep themselves cleared of cotton, so that it is impossible that the controller can get clogged with cotton, and accordingly the controller works perfectly to insure an even feeding of the cotton as it is conveyed by the carrier. Heretofore the carrier has conveyed the cotton to the hopper a and unless the roller seized the cotton instantly the carrier tended to remove the same from the hopper, the result being that the feeding of the cotton to the roller was irregular and unsatisfactory. Accordingly I have herein provided the feedcontroller 0, mounted at either end in the frame A and consisting in the present insaid surface being shown in Fig. 7 as formed by strips of sheet metal 0 sprung back and The cotton is thrown on the endless-belt.

stance of a roll having a roughened surface,

with forwardly-slanting pins or teeth set in a adjustablyconnected thereto at a by Q and are of the usual kindfoun'd in roller cot Q 'for1n,I have mounted adjacent the upper end 1 forth over a staggered arrangement of pins 0 in a serpentine manner from end to end of the roll. As thus made there are no projecting points to catch the cotton and carry it up again. On the contrary, the operation is simply to continually move the cotton downwardly toward. the roller and hold it there until the latter can catch hold of the'fiber of the cotton and pull'it in over the edge of the knife is in the usual manner. In order that the feed-regulator 0 may produce still further uniformity of feed, I prefer that the same shall have an intermittent motion, one means for providing the same being shown in Fig. 4:, in which 0 designates a ratchet on the end of the. roll 0, and c is a pawl held, by means of spring 02in constant engagement with the teeth of the ratchet, the pawl being mounted on the outer end of the arm 0 pivoted atits inner end on the trunnion of the roll 0 and operated by means of a link 0 pivoted to an eccentric-pin c on the upper drive-wheel of the feed carrier. This intermittent feed is of particular advantage in ginning extremely dirty and knotty and bunchedup cotton. The cotton is held down by the feed-regulator 0 against the roller, and as the regulator hesitates between the intermittent movements thereof the roller is given a complete opportunity to catch the cotton and pull the same in under the knife with certainty. This hesitation of the regulator 0 also gives a better opportunity to the clearer on to pick out the seeds and motes as the latter is rapidly vibrated with a slightly-uplifted action against the cotton as the latter is being pulled in by the roller. The roller a revolves in the direction of the arrow and is partially inclosed at its front side by means of a card-case d. I regard this feature (the card-case) as a very important part of my invention. preferably, of a piece of sheet metal bent in a curve about the roller and held at its upper end against a shoulder is having a rearwardlyextended flange d clamped between the knife and the adj ustingpreferably adjust: able, by m-eansof a bolt k bearing against lever W, the latter being a lug k on the frame A.

roller by means of a set-screw 01 the plate 01 The card-case will be adjusted at its lower edge against the roller, so as slightly to pinch the tween itself and the roller as the latter carries the cotton around from the knife down- Ward. The result is that the fibers of cotton are straightened ou-tand nipped between the lower edgeof the card-case and the roller until the succeedingroller or doifer, as the case may be, catches the projecting ends of the cotton fibers and picks them off in the process of further ginning ordofiing, as presently de- By this means I am enabled to straighten out the most obdurate cotton, and

scribed.

to the master-roller The card-case consists,

of the knife .70 and :ipiro c the cotton is whisked over the same by the cotton bet in fact wool and picker waste can bereadily ginned by means of my improvements.

A further feature of my invention, and one which is of especial advantage in ginning wool or picker waste, consists of interposing one or more additional rollers between the provided for the upper or master roller a". It

found necessary, another roller may be added, or one of these may be omitted, and when it is not desired to use the gin for especiallydirty cotton or for picker-waste it may be found desirable to omit the card-rollers altogether. These rollers are preferably similar a, being composed of a hard-brush periphery or of composition, as is usual in rollers, it being preferable, however, that the card-rollers should be softer and slightly more yielding than the master-roller.

When I employ a series of rollers, as is indicated in Fig. 1, I prefer to also employ an auxiliary doffer g in order to clean off from the rollers a and c any cotton that mayadhere thereto and be carried around beyond the point of contact of the roller below the same. It is essential that this cotton should be removed from the respective rollers, as otherwise it would tend to clog the same and interfere with the proper working thereof. The cotton removed by the auxiliary dotfer g is preferably delivered to an auxiliary chute h, whence it passes into the main chute m. The cotton having been picked and straightened successively by. the rollers a e f is nipped between the last roller and its cardcase d, whence it, is caught by the brushes of the dotfera and whipped around over the dirt-grid it into the chute m. The dirt-grid is preferably pivoted at its upper end by suitable means, as on a transverse rod 19., and is adjustable by means'of a hand-screw n and "a nut a working over. a transverse rod 12;.

The grid is herein shown as consistingof a seriesof transverse wires or rods a, mounted at either end in curved frames. a I. The

The lower end of 'j the card-case d is adjustable to and from the Working in ordinarily eridi'rt that has been brought down with otton through the rolls in the ginning ss will drop through the dirt-grid n as brushes of the dofier. It has beenyfound, however, that in ginning extremely-di-rtycotton, .and especially in ginning the pickerwaste, &c., whichit is thespecial aim of my present invention to successfully clean and gin, there will still be inthe cotton considerable dirt, and accordingly I.=have provided the closed chute m, and have also provided a closed rear portion a and front portion (1. for the dofier so that the latter operates as a brush-fan to create a current of air, driving the cotton up the chute,the latter having,pr eferably, an inclined bottom, as shown. This detail in Fig. 5.

bottom is open at various places, a narrow opening m being provided near the doffer to constitute a gravity-separator. is blown into the chute m the heavier particles of dirt and debris are carried by gravity through the opening an, the latter, however, being narrow, so as to prevent the cotton from passing through the same. At m I have provided a second gravity-screen in which an open-work fender, upwardly inclined at its forward end, is arranged to slightly jog the cotton in its passage up the chute, and thereby further remove the dirt, &c., held in the cotton. At the end of the chute I have interposed a revolving screen 3, consisting of a light drum having an open-work covering (see Fig. 8) to permit passage of the dirt. The cotton strikes this screen and passes out in the direction of the arrow. A grating m is provided adjacent the screen 8 to constitute a draft-separator for still further removing whatever dust and dirtmay have continued with the cotton up to that point. This grating m may be adjusted toward or from the screen 8, and is shown in enlarged The current of air from the doffer a is deflected by the screen clownwardly through an opening provided for that purpose in the chute below the grate m so that as the cotton lodges momentarily on the grating and the screen the current of air is forced through the fiuffy mass of cotton with considerable force and serves effectually to remove the least remaining particles of dust and dirt as the revolving screen carries the cotton out between itself and the roll 8.

I have found that a change in relative speed of the roller and the hopper and clearer makes a great difference in the quality and amount of work done in different grades of cotton and picker waste, particularly in the latter, and accordingly I have provided means, one form thereof being shown in Fig. 3, for varying the speed of the roller relatively to the hopper and'clearer. The roller receives its rotation fromthe power-shaft a by means shaft, lar gear 0, meshing with the gear 0 01:} th roller, the two pivoted at its opposite end on the trunnion of the roller a". In order to change the speed, I substitute a larger or smaller gear 0 for the one shown, the free end of the bracket 0 being correspondingly adjusted by means of a bolto in one of the holes 0 In operation the cotton is deliveredby the moving table a to the carrier at, which carries the same up beneath the feed-controller which automatically levels down any bunches and tangled masses of cotton which mayhave been carried up to that point on the carrier, and thence the even feed of cotton is delivered to the hopper (1 where it is As the cotton of intermediate gearing, a gear-- wheel omeshing with a gear on the powerand the gear 0 giving motion to asim i-J keeps the rollers clean and prevents themfrom intermediate gears 0 dbeihgi journaled on the swinging end of an arni o caught and fed with'perfect' regularity to the roller by means of the feed regulator c. Heretofore it has been almost impossible to obtain even feed, particularly when dirty and matted cotton was being ginned, and this has been especially true in the case of wool or picker waste. The carrier would carry down the cotton or wool in irregular masses to the hopper, fiber instantly the carrier would carry the cotton back again. WVith the feed-regulator of my present invention, however, the cotton can be fed as fast as desired and the hopper can be filled entirely. If there is too much cotton, it will be taken back by the carrier, and the pins of the latter being full when they reach the endless table a will not take up any more until the cotton with which they are loaded is deposited in the hopper. The intermittent feed which Iprefer to use is also particularly adapted for feeding wool or rollers, and it is especially with a view to the successful ginning of this eXtremely-obdurate class of cotton and wool that I have provided in the preferred form of my gin a plurality of rollers arranged in'series, so that they pick the cotton from one to the other, and thereby straighten out even the worst masses thereof with certainty before the cotton has reached the end of its travel. The cotton having been seized by the roller a is straightened out in its passage around the samebetween the roller and the card-case d. I regard the tion. It operates to hold the fiber against the brushes or covering of the roller until the cotton is whipped out and straightened. The lower end of the card-case isadj usted against the roller, so as to nip the cotton and hold the same temporarily until the doffer or roller below catches the projecting ends of the fiber opposite direction, this serving to still further separate and straighten the fiber. The cardcases are slightly springy, so that they yield to any unevenness of cotton that may occur, and thereby tend to aid in drawing out lengthwise 'thefiber of the cotton. The auxiliary dofier g clogging. I do not in any way intend to limit myself to a series of rollers, inasmuch as the dispensed with, if desired, these being intended particularly for use in connection with the ginning of picker-waste, &c., as stated. The cotton having reached the main doffer a is caught by the brushes thereof as it projects from the last cardcase (1 and is whisked around over the dirt-grid n, so as to remove the coarser dirt that may have come down through the gin embedded in the cotton, the cotton being thence blown through the chute against the screen 8, the heavier dirt rolling by gravity down the separator m and further dirt being screened by the fender m and the and unless the roller grabbed the and picks them off from the card-case in the card-rollers and the auxiliary doffer may be.

picker waste with perfect regularity to the card-case as the leading feature of myinven- 1 T he'chute m, if desired, may be longer or shorter than I have; shown it, and certain of the separators iiiay be omitted, or others may be added, if desired Y Various other changes in detail of constructionand in arrangement and combination of parts vmay be resorted to besides those which I have above indicated without departing from the spirit and scope of my invention, in-

asmuch as I do not limit my invention otherwise than as set forth in the accompanying claims.

I Having described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent,

1. In agin the combination witha roller, and its knife, of an adj nstable card-case fixed at its upper side adjacent the knife, and partially surrounding the roller, and means to adjust the lower side of said cardcase to and from said roller, substantially as described.

2. In a gin, the combination with a roller for ginning the cotton, of a card-case partially surrounding and eccentric to the roller, and adapted to retard the cotton and straighten the fibers thereof, as the cotton is carried around by the roller,said card-case gradually approaching close to and substantially in con- "tact with the roller at its lower edge, substantially as described.

3. In a gin, the combination with a roller, provided with a ginning or carding surface, of a yielding smooth cardcase mounted in a stationary support held against and partially surrounding the roller, and arranged to nip thecotton as the latter is carried by the cardifig-surface of the roller, substantially as described.

' tially to each other and a 4;. In a gin, the combination with aroller, of a stationary card-case partially surrounding the roller, means to hold said card-case at its lower edge against the roller, thereby to nip the cottoubetween the roller'an'd case, and means to pick said cotton from the lower edge of the card-case, substantially as described. r

5. In a gin, a pluralityof rollers arranged in series, said rollers being journaled tangenarranged to pick the loose cotton fibers from each other and to pass them from one to another throughout the series, and a cardbase for each roller, each card case being eccentric to, its roller and having its forward edge against the roller, substan tially as described. I 7

a 6, Ina gin, a roller,- and a doifer, combined with a dirt-grid mounted adjacent the dofi'er, said grid being pivotally supported at its rear upper end, a fixed rod beneath it, said grid having a screw n mounted thereon adjacent said fixed rod, and a hook nut 11 carried by said screw, said nut having its hook turned to engage the forward side of said fixed rod, being held in engagement therewith by the gravity of the grid, substantially as described;

7. In a gin, the combination with a knife, a vibrating clearer codperating therewith, and means to vibrate it, of a roller, means to rotate the latter, and means to vary the relative speed of vibration and rotation, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specificationin the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

MATTHEW PRIOR. 

